Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said in
an interview on Tuesday that imposing fines on carriers for lingering
containers was “a last resort” and is already helping to get containers
moving off the docks.
“We’ve tried diplomacy, we’ve tried
collaboration, operations meetings all around,” said Seroka, explaining
why the decision was taken.
The new policy,
also in effect at the Port of Long Beach, calls for arriving containers
scheduled to be moved by truck to leave the ports within nine days and
containers set to move by rail within six days. Fees of $100 a day per
container will apply for containers that dwell at the terminals beyond
those limits.
While the new rule went into effect on November 1,
no penalties will be assessed before November 15 and the ports will
consider not charging the fee if there is progress by that date. “If
progress is being made clearing our docks, I have the discretion to
delay the start of fees beyond November 15,” said Seroka in a statement.
“Our goal is to see significant improvement on our docks so that we
don’t need to administer any fees.”
If fees are collected, the
ports have said they will invest the funds in “programs designed to
enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity, and address congestion
impacts.”
According to releases from both ports, about 40% of the
import containers at their terminals are idling at least nine days.
Before the pandemic-induced import surge began in mid-2020, on average,
containers for local delivery remained on container terminals under four
days, while containers destined for trains dwelled less than two days.
In a separate interview on CNBC,
Seroka said that, of the 73 vessels waiting to unload containers, 50
“represent many of the 10 newcomers to the trade this year, plus at
least a half a dozen retailers that have decided to charter ships to
bring them in. Many of these folks did not have reservations at the
Ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles, even after they loaded cargo and the
vessel began its journey across the Pacific. We try to hustle these
folks in wherever we have a gap in time, which is few and far between,
to get those vessels worked as well.”